Friday Focus: China's tax on Canadian canola and TIFF abandons the principles of free speech
Aug 15, 2025
China's recent 75% tariff on Canadian canola brings agricultural tensions to the forefront, raising questions about retaliatory trade climates. The discussion delves into Canada's struggle between two superpowers and whether a reset with China is needed. Later, the hosts tackle the TIFF controversy over a documentary removal, highlighting concerns about free speech principles in Canadian cultural institutions. They emphasize the responsibility of publicly funded organizations to uphold diverse voices.
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insights INSIGHT
Canola Tariff Is Economically Painful
China's 75% tariff on Canadian canola is a punitive response tied to Canada's EV tariffs and has major job consequences.
Canola supports up to 200,000 Canadian jobs and rivals sectors like autos in economic impact.
insights INSIGHT
EV Tariffs Trigger Cross-Sector Fallout
Canada imposed high tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, prompting China's retaliation on other exports.
The EV decision cascaded into damage across unrelated sectors like agriculture.
insights INSIGHT
Auto Protection Exposed Regional Fault Lines
Large subsidies and protection for Ontario's auto sector have increased Canada's vulnerability to retaliation.
Those industrial bets exposed regional tensions and left Western Canada particularly exposed.
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Friday Focus provides listeners with a focused, half-hour masterclass on the big issues, events and trends driving the news and current events. The show features Janice Gross Stein, the founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and bestselling author, in conversation with Rudyard Griffiths, Chair and moderator of the Munk Debates.
Rudyard and Janice open today's show reacting to China's 75% tariff on Canada's canola seed, a retaliation against our government's decision to impose duties on Chinese electric vehicles. Is the Trump administration ultimately to blame for the retaliatory tariff climate we now find ourselves in? And as the weakest G7 country, why are we fighting two superpowers at the same time? Is it time to reset our relationship with China? In the second half of the show Rudyard and Janice turn to the controversy from TIFF this week following the removal of a documentary about October 7th from the festival's lineup, which was ultimately reversed after a public outcry. Rudyard and Janice agree that the reasons cited by TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey for this decision lacked both merit and conviction. This was a blatant display of a Canadian institution embracing the abandonment of the best principles of free speech, and it is a sobering reminder that we must include diverse voices in our cultural spaces. Furthermore, TIFF is a publicly funded institution, and as stakeholders we should demand that its leadership be held accountable for this unfortunate episode.
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